Here Be Dragons

Treading the Deep Waters of Motherhood, Mean Girls, and Generational Trauma

By: Melanie Shankle

Narrated by: Melanie Shankle

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Nobody’s Cuter than You and co-author (with her daughter, Caroline Shankle) of The Lion and the Bear comes a poignant, deeply personal story about trusting God to heal generational wounds so we can show up for our teenage girls.

“Written with the kindness and honesty of a big sister, the candor of a best friend, and the humility and grace of one whose heart points us to the One who saved her from all the dragons.”—Sissy Goff, author of The Worry-Free Parent

Medieval cartographers marked maps with “Here Be Dragons” to warn of unknown dangers ahead, and now Melanie Shankle humorously applies this to raising teenage daughters. Navigating the tumultuous teenage years can be daunting, with mean girls, dramatic breakups, and self-worth struggles often occurring in a single day. As a mom, you might long for a guide to help you through these unpredictable times.

When her daughter, Caroline, faced high school challenges, Melanie felt overwhelmed. She embarked on a journey to break the vicious cycles rooted in her past, realizing that to help Caroline face her dragons, she first needed to confront her own. In Here Be Dragons, Melanie candidly explores past struggles and generational wounds that shaped her approach to parenting. With deep insight and empathy, she demonstrates how facing your own dragons empowers you to help your daughter confront hers.

Here Be Dragons is a heartfelt—and aptly humorous—source of camaraderie and practical advice for those feeling overwhelmed by raising a teenage daughter. It serves as a road map to thriving amid chaos and trusting God to transform you into a healthier woman, mom, wife, and friend. Laugh, cry, and find solidarity in Melanie’s transformative journey as you embrace your own path toward building an unbreakable mother-daughter bond and a more empowered future together.

Classic Melanie!

Wow! Your book is the story of my daughter-in-law except she is your mother cloned! I cried with you as I listened. I've read all your books and loved them! As an Aggie Mom I can relate to your college years as well as your daughter's!!

You are a gifted writer and speaker! Keep listening to God and write more books!!!

Melanie’s best book

This is a compelling read and Melanie’s best work. Truly relatable to any family or parenting dynamic. I really loved and appreciated it.

Here Be Healing

As a mama to a young girl, for the past 5 years (her whole life!) I have been “doing the work” of sifting through the damage wreaked during my own upbringing in a dysfunctional home as God heals my heart and helps me navigate this motherhood journey. I am so grateful for Melanie’s vulnerability and wit! This book is relatable and encouraging, even though our moms had their own flavors of crazy and our stories have significant differences. It has stirred my soul and given me fresh prayers to pray over my mothering and my daughter. Thank you for going into the pit of painful memories to bring such a narrative of redemption and hope to fellow moms! I wish I could buy a buggyload of books to hand out to any mom I pass in Target!

Is it too soon to reread it?!!!

I finished this book in 24 hrs. I loved Melanie’s wit, her story telling abilities, her faith and I honestly just felt like she was a friend telling a story. I am going to recommend this book to everyone. It’s about boundaries, mean girls, how we can’t fight all of our children’s battles, faith, our childhood trauma, the list goes on…but ultimately the whole book was relatable to me. I was in a puddle of tears the last 30 mins. I wasn’t ready for the book to end…so is it too soon to reread it?!

A Must Read for Any Mom

I am a huge fan of Melanie and listen to her podcast religiously. I had to listen to this book since her voice feels like a friend. Turns out I will also be buying a hard copy so I can go back through and put a highlighter to work. This book is beautifully written and told. This is a true story of healing and redemption in a broken and sinful world. As a mom to a young girl, it made me think how I want to approach things differently with my own daughter to equip her to slay her own dragons one day. I will be telling all my mom friends about this book! Make sure you have some tissues!